Poverty information
Poverty. It's a taboo word and subject that nobody likes to think about. When most people hear the word "poverty", they think poor, but it's much more than that. It's hunger, homelessness, starvation, disease and sickness. "Poverty is the worst form of violence," said Mahatma Gandhi, an Indian political and spiritual leader. Famous English author, Eli Khamarov, has been quoted as saying, "Poverty is like a punishment for a crime you didn't commit."
There are different types of poverty, which most people are not aware of. The first type is "absolute poverty" which has the definition of "Living below a specified income threshold." Historically, this has been $1 per day, but in 2009, the World Bank made adjustments to the way poverty is measured. Now, the amount of $1.25 per day is the basic threshold. Take a minute and think about that. With only $1.25 a day, a person can purchase 2 soft drinks from a vending machine and have a quarter left over. They can get 1 cheeseburger from McDonald's and have about 22 cents left over. There's no chance of getting a drink from Starbucks, no chance of being able to eat healthy, and no chance to pay rent. The second type of poverty is called "relative poverty". This term has the definition of: "An individual's poverty as compared with others in the individual's community."
During the Great Depression, times were definitely tough. In 1933, when the Great Depression was at it's lowest point, there were 15 million unemployed Americans, and almost half the banks had failed. Bread lines, soup kitchens and the number of homeless people continued to rise. What changed and how was the United States able to get out of this horrifying decade? World War II began, and that in turn, created many jobs for Americans. Congress also passed the Social Security Act in 1935, which allowed Americans to receive unemployment, disability and pensions for the elderly.
Fast forward to the current year. According to the website, www.actionagainsthunger.org, there are 767 million people around the world suffering from poverty. There are 963 million people in the world that go hungry each day. This staggering number also means there are thousands of deaths, 25,000 to be exact, according to the United Nations. These deaths are occurring too often because children are starving and don't have access to clean drinking water. Roughly 1.1 billion people in developing countries lack access to clean water. The amount of people lacking basic sanitation is 2.6 billion people.
The following chart shows areas of extreme poverty throughout the world. Extreme poverty is defined as less that $1.90 per day.
Looking at the world's poverty rates will probably have you feeling pretty good about what the U.S. is dealing with. But it still isn't good news. According to the Utah Food Bank, 1-in-6 kids suffers from food insecurity. That means they don't know where their next meal is coming from. When they leave school on Friday, they may not get another nutritious meal until Monday morning. Granite School District is trying to help those students in the lower income areas by offering free breakfast in the classroom to every student.
Salt Lake County public libraries are also trying to fight hunger by offering free snacks to anyone under the age of 18 at their Kid's Cafe. While not all libraries offer this program, those that do are seeing a decrease in behavior issues and are getting to know the kids that are in the library.
On a list of U.S. states and territories by poverty rate, the state with the lowest poverty rate in 2014 was New Hampshire with 9.2% of their households in poverty. Utah was number 12 on that list, with a rate of 11.8% of households. Mississippi holds the highest poverty rate at a staggering rate of 21.9% of households. That's equal to around 634,000 people. But Mississipi doesn't have it the worst out of U.S. states and territories. Not by a long shot. American Samoa's governor said that the poverty rate in 2014 was 57.8%, but in just three short years to 2017, the poverty rate shot up to 65%.
How do people get out of poverty? How can they make the changes they need to in order to provide for their family? It isn't easy. People have to be willing to work, and maybe work in a job they aren't excited about. Start saving what may be considered extra. Find you feet and ask for help. There are so many community resources available and willing to help, but people must be willing to ask. The amazing actor, Jimmy Dean, once suffered from poverty. He's quoted as saying, "Poverty was the greatest motivating factor in my life."
The wise Nelson Mandela once said, "As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest." Not only do these things go hand in hand, but they are also what can make the world such a scary place to be in.
Poverty persuasion
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Poverty. Isn’t that such an ugly word? When most people hear that word, they think about other countries, such as India, Africa, and Pakistan. Unfortunately, that is true, but it’s a world-wide problem. According to the World Bank Organization, poverty is described by the following: “Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time.”
This issue is something that requires attention from everyone, and is a complex issue because of the many layers it has. How does a family decide what they can do without, and why are families having to choose whether they pay their mortgage/rent, pay the electric bill or feed their families?
Dr. Dennis Labayen, Field Operations Director for Outreach International has come up with five ways to fight poverty. Included in his list are: 1. People directly affected by issues of poverty in the community have to be actively and authentically participating in the efforts to fight poverty. 2. Create an organized group within the community to help many people rather than working with only a few individuals. 3. The people affected need to identify the issues. 4. People in poverty need to understand that they can often address and solve their own issues. 5. Fighting poverty takes time.
While those ideas and ways are great sounding on paper, are they achievable? It depends on the person.
What about those that are hungry? One in six people in America face hunger on a daily basis. That’s 49 million Americans that struggle to put food on the table. The hunger in the United States isn’t caused by a lack of food, but the prevalence of poverty. African American and Latino children have a higher risk of hunger at 1 in 3. As Americans, we’re horrible at eating the food we buy. 40% of food, or $165 billion worth of food is thrown out yearly. That amount could feed 25 million Americans. What can people do to help this issue? Participate in the food drives. Clean out the cupboards, or take that extra money you’ve been saving and go purchase some peanut butter, mac & cheese, or tuna fish. Spend a little bit extra on a stranger. You never know whether that can of tuna or jar of peanut butter is going to be life saving.
Water. It’s great to swim in, it’s great to step into a hot shower, and it tastes wonderful during a workout. It shouldn’t be a problem to have access to clean drinking water in the good ol’ U.S. of A., but the sad reality is that 63 million Americans are exposed to unsafe drinking water. Water contamination can lead to cancer, developmental delays in children, and gastrointestinal diseases. We’ve all heard of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, but what about your own backyard? What about the water that you bathe your children in, give them to drink and you drink it yourself?
Poverty. It’s an ugly word, and so are the facts. What are you going to do to change it? What can you do to help someone that’s in poverty? Well, that’s up to you, and it doesn’t matter how little you think you’re doing, it will indeed help someone out. Give to your local food bank anytime you can, not just during their food drives. Think about putting an effort into what you’re throwing out and using your money on. If you’re pretty sure you’re not going to eat that bag of salad, instead of being part of the 40% food waste, think what else you can have. If we all step in and do a little bit, the little bit can turn into a lot over time.
To make an effort to help keep the water clean for everyone, consider using porous materials wherever possible instead of cement. Cement makes it easy for runoff water to pick up extra junk and pollution. Porous materials prevent that, so junk isn’t going down the drains. Remember that toilets aren’t garbage cans. Don’t throw things in the toilet that can easily be thrown away. Instead of flushing old pills, try finding a pharmacy that will take medication back to dispose of safely. Don’t be afraid to say something if you see something. Find a local water conservation group and find out what you can do to help them out.
We all live on earth and we all need to treat it and each other a little better. Make the conscious choice to be a better person by doing one of the above things and see how great it makes you feel.
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